Sessum, who is president of Province IV and served as host convener for the PLC meeting, was summing up the nine provincial activity reports that included youth ministry activities; increased attendance at convocations and network gatherings; new initiatives in Christian formation, Spanish-language ministry, and environmental ministry; and announcement of a cross-provincial collaborative that will propose a new model for the way the church does adult Christian education.

"The actions of General Convention [in ratifying the election of a gay priest as bishop] are not crippling the church," said Bishop James Jelinek of Minnesota, president of Province VI. "This is really good news."

"Today, we so often hear and read about the problems of the Episcopal Church, but we seldom read or hear about all the exciting ministries taking place sharing the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ," Sessum said. "It seems in recent months we never hear about the increasing involvement of our youth in congregations, dioceses and in our provinces as we have heard at this meeting from all of our provincial reports. It just blew me away."

Among the activities reported from the provinces are:

Province I - A November (19-20) convocation on "Combating HIV/AIDS in Africa: Episcopalians Serving God's Mission," and its annual Stewardship Conference (March) which had a record-breaking 400 participants

Province II - New or revitalized ministry networks in prison ministry, congregational development, ministry development, youth ministry, ecumenism, and Christian Education, which is producing a manual on Christian formation

Province III - Hiring of a new program coordinator and new emphasis on racial diversity, communications improvements and collaboration; the Higher Education network is in conversations about joint campus ministries with Lutherans at both Howard and Temple universities

Province IV -

• New initiatives in disaster relief ministries, campus ministries and health ministries (parish nurses training)
• A Youth Ministries hands-on mission trip to Barnes Mountain/Berea College, Kentucky, last July at which 252 youth and advisors rebuilt a playground, repaired the foundation of a log-cabin church, repaired homes and built a welcome center that will be used in July 2005 for the national EYE (Episcopal Youth Event) in this same location
• A "Total Immersion" Spanish language weekend, February 25-27, 2005 to teach clergy and lay volunteers, medical professionals and others basic Spanish needed in outreach efforts to the Hispanic-speaking populations
• A collaborative with Province IV's Environmental Ministries and the School of Theology at Sewanee to explore the concerns and connections of science, religion and ethics. The first public program in November featured a presentation on the "God Gene."

Province V - Record attendance at conferences involving Christian Formation and Education, higher education, youth and ECW

Province VI - Welcoming five new bishops in the province at their 2004 Synod ("Blazing Trails: the Ever-Changing Face of Province VI") in Bozeman, Montana.

Province VII - "Today's Disciples in Today's World" – a conference on adult education and formation February 24-26 in Kansas City, Missouri, jointly sponsored by Provinces VI and VII

Province VIII -

• Best-attended conferences in years for both higher education and youth networks
• "Multicultural by Design" series provided at two conferences to teach intentional inclusion and hospitality in culturally diverse settings
• Plans under way for "Called by God: Doing Together What We Can't Do Alone" synod/convocation in Portland, Oregon in July 2005

Province IX - Renewal and new initiatives in youth ministries, Global Relations, Christian Education, evangelism and stewardship, including plans to develop a curriculum on Christian Education in Spanish.

"We have to be one of the most exciting churches in Christendom today. I only wish every member of our church could have been part of these two days in December with me," Sessum added.

"Your hard work is yielding great mission dividends for the Church," the Rev. Dr. James Lemler, director of mission for the Episcopal Church, told the conference. "It is a hopeful moment for our work in so many ways."

The PLC, which meets twice a year, is comprised of the presidents, vice presidents and program coordinators from each of the church's nine provinces. There are no "officers," but leadership rotates semi-annually from meeting to meeting with the host province serving as convener.

At the December meeting, the conference passed a revised Burlington-Chesapeake Document, which spells out the roles and responsibilities of the provinces within the church structure and the PLC's relationships with General Convention and the Executive Council.

The newly adopted document provides that the provincial presidents will retain the authority to appoint or designate network program representatives, in consultation with the Episcopal Church Center staff and other provincial leaders.

During its December meeting, the PLC heard presentations from Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold; the Very Rev. George Werner, president of the House of Deputies; the Rev. Dr. James Lemler, director of mission; Patricia Mordecai, chief operating officer of the Episcopal Church; and Canon Robert Williams, acting director of communication.